The invention relates to a headprotector made of elastic material for athletes, with portions covering at least the forehead, temples, ears and malar bone.
A headprotector of this kind made of leather, which may be filled with an elastic material has been known for a long time for use in boxing. This protector, however, covers the temples, ears, forehead, and partly covers the malar bone, but provides no protection for the occipital part of the head. A further disadvantage thereof is that the leather absorbs perspiration during training to such an extent that it must be dried thereafter for long periods of time, and thus becomes unusable after a relatively short time.
For other types of sports, such as Karate for example, such a headprotector made of Latex-foam is known. This headprotector is surfaced with an elastic paint by a dipping process. Besides the relatively bad fit of this headprotection, which easily slides out of position or which applies pressure to the head if secured by a strap at the back of the neck, the durability of such a protector made of Latex-foam is very short, such as when used for full contact Karate, for example. Once tears appear, it is not practical to repair them or cement them together again.
Other energy absorbing flexible helmets are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,934,271 and 3,992,722. The latter patent, for example, describes a headprotector consisting of a unitary formed member of polyurethane foam. However, this device also includes an outer layer which uses somewhat different polyurethane foam than that which is the subject of the invention of the instant application, as will be discussed hereinbelow.
The headprotector disclosed in the hereinafore-mentioned patent, comprises a basket or cage which is practically completely closed, and which is relatively rigidly, and in any case fixedly, closed by cross-pieces in the chin and mouth regions. Furthermore, the previously known headprotector does not provide sufficient protection in the sensitive occipital region at the back of the head, but is only provided there with a narrow strap. A head protector of this type can hardly be fitted to different head sizes, because it does not yield in the chin region. Therefore, either a poor fit must be tolerated, or several different sizes must be carried in stock. Furthermore, there is the danger of injuries to the back of the head.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a headprotector made of elastic material for athletes, which overcomes the hereinafore mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore known devices of this general type, and which assures extensive protection of the head in sports in which collisions, hitting, or impact injuries, such as bruises, hemorhages or bone fractures are regularly to be expected. Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to make the headprotector of such material, and in such a form that it easily fits any particular head shape, and beyond this that is so durable that tears or breaks of the material cannot occur even at extremely high stresses. Additionally, it is an object of the invention to provide a headprotector which is easily adapted to different sizes and provides reliable protection in the occipital region of the head.